Tax revenue falls $7.19 bil. through August on weak corporate earnings
A headquarters of the National Tax Services in Jongno District, Seoul / Korea Times file
Korea's tax revenue fell 9.4 trillion won ($7.19 billion) from a year earlier during the first eight months of this year due mainly to weak corporate earnings, data showed Monday.
The government collected 232.2 trillion won of taxes over the January-August period, down 3.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The decline was due mainly to the falling corporate tax collection, which dipped 26.9 percent, or 16.8 trillion won, to 45.6 trillion as local businesses suffered weak earnings last year.
Operating profits of companies listed on the main bourse dipped 45 percent on-year in 2023. Those of firms listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market also tumbled 39.8 percent, according to government data.
The amount of income tax collected shed 0.1 percent over the period to 77.1 trillion won.
But the amount of value-added tax collected climbed 13.6 percent to 59 trillion won on rising consumption.
The tax collection from securities transactions shed 15.9 percent to 3.5 trillion won, according to the ministry.
In August alone, the country's total tax revenue lost 2.6 percent on-year to 23.4 trillion won.
Korea is projected to suffer a massive tax revenue shortfall for the second consecutive year in 2024.
The government is expected to collect 337.7 trillion won in taxes this year, an 8.1 percent fall, or 29.6 trillion won, from its forecast made in the 2024 budget planning.
The revised amount was also 6.4 trillion won smaller than the tax revenue of 344.1 trillion won last year, when the country suffered a record shortfall of 56.4 trillion won. (Yonhap)